Electromagnetic stirring (EMS) of the steel melt in electrical arc furnaces (EAF) are beneficial of several reasons, for example to improve melt speed and reduce process time, to improve temperature homogenization, to reduce energy consumption, and to prevent vortex formation during taping.
In earlier installations of EMS's at AC EAF's, the stirrer unit is mounted below the bottom at a central position. In DC EAF's the DC current is collected in a large electrode that is integrated into the bottom refractory of the furnace. The electrode is connected to the outside through the bottom. The bottom electrode area is very large (typically 2×3 m).
Thus, in installations of EMS at DC EAF's, it is not possible to place the stirrer unit at a central position below the bottom of the furnace. Normally, no other areas which are close enough to the melt and with a sufficiently large area exist.
Further, prior art stirrer units for DC and AC EAF's seem to be inflexible and do not provide adequate stirring for all kind of applications.